


They'll Be Home For Christmas

by Musyc



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Christmas, Community: dhr_advent, Decorating, Draco Malfoy - character, F/M, Fluff, HP: EWE, Hermione Granger - character, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-25
Updated: 2012-12-25
Packaged: 2017-11-22 08:28:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/607830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musyc/pseuds/Musyc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermione has decorated the house in too much tinsel. But there's a reason for it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	They'll Be Home For Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2012 DHR Advent calendar. Prompt of "tinsel".

"Granger." Draco leaned against the frame of the door and lifted his brows as he examined the decorations Hermione had scattered around the sitting room. "Just how many colors of tinsel did you buy?"

"Only one. I charmed them different." Hermione, perched on a step stool in the middle of the room, paused the swoops of her wand. The long strands of tinsel she was attaching to the light fixture draped down to tangle in her hair. "Red, green, blue, silver, gold, and ... hmmm," she said. She turned slowly in place, counting each color off with a tap of thumb to fingers. "Seven."

"Is that really necessary? Wouldn't one or two have been enough?" Draco stepped into the room, maneuvering carefully to avoid crushing any of the empty boxes on the floor. He held a mug of steaming mulled cider out to Hermione, cinnamon sticks poking up from the top. "I know Gryffindors don't do well with subtlety, but it looks like a rainbow exploded in here."

Hermione took the mug and sipped from it, her gaze flicking around the room. Silver garlands of tinsel looped across the fireplace mantle and dangled down the sides. Gold garlands outlined the picture frames on the walls. Red surrounded the windows; blue traced the shape of the door. She pushed her hair out of her face with the back of her hand and shook her head. "It's a bit garish, yes. But--"

"A bit?"

She huffed at the interruption. " _But_ it's all necessary. I need all these colors, Malfoy."

Draco sipped his own cider as he looked at the mass of tinsel. The riot of colors was practically an assault on his eyes and he wanted to squint just from being near it. He preferred simple, muted decorations, far more understated than what Hermione had chosen. But if she said she needed them all, there was a reason. "All right," he said, shrugging one shoulder. "Let's hear it. Why do you need all of them?"

She smiled at him and lifted her wand to finish guiding a swirl of purple tinsel around the light fixture. "Well, red and gold plus green and silver. Those are obvious. They represent us."

"Gryffindor and Slytherin. Is that why you braided several into a wreath for the front door?"

"Precisely why. So everyone walking in can see the blending. It's symbolic." Hermione flicked her wand and a bit of tinsel waved in front of Draco's face, tickling his nose. He sneezed it away and Hermione laughed. "Then there's the blue, which is my father's favorite color. And the purple is my mother's. Since they can't afford to come back to England, I want to represent them for the holidays. It's like they're here anyway."

Her voice caught on the words. The smooth movements of her wand bobbled.

Draco put his cider on a table and took her mug from her, then gently tugged her down from the step stool to wrap his arms around her. She snuggled against his chest, head pressed over his heart. Draco stroked her back and bent to kiss her hair. "That's it, then," he murmured. "You're putting decorations up, all that colorful tinsel, so it feels more like they're here with you."

She nodded. Arms around his waist, she squeezed him tight. "That's it. I miss them. I miss them so much. Holidays without them were hard enough when they didn't remember me, but now that I've finally managed to fix the charm I did on them, they still can't be here. I just wanted to feel like they were here. You can't begrudge me a rainbow of tinsel if that helps, can you?"

"Not in the slightest." Draco held her, absently picking a strand of silver tinsel out of her hair. "But in that case, you need to open one of your presents early," he said. At her questioning look, he dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose and pushed her back a step. He pulled a small paper folder from his back pocket and handed it to Hermione. "Go ahead," he told her. "Take a look."

Hermione pried the folder open and stared at the contents. Draco hid a smile as he watched comprehension dawning in her eyes. The folder held the confirmation of a pair of plane tickets from Sydney to London, arriving the next morning. Hermione ran her fingers over the printed letters. She looked up to Draco with a gasp. "Did you--"

"I did," he said. "I even went _in person_ to buy those, and that was an adventure I don't care to repeat. I'm especially proud of myself for managing to keep this a secret for an entire month. You're a nosy one."

She gaped at him. Draco chuckled and bent to kiss the corner of her mouth. "Your parents will be here tomorrow, Granger. Happy Christmas."

Hermione squeaked. She threw her arms around his neck and dragged him down for a wild kiss. Tinsel danced around them, drifting like sparkles and snow. "Thank you," she whispered against his mouth. "Thank you so much."


End file.
